HootSuite Raises $20 Million from OMERS Ventures

OMERS Ventures is buying a $20 million ownership stake in Vancouver-based HootSuite via a secondary purchase from the company’s existing shareholders. Word on the street is that the financing pegs that valuation of HootSuite at over $200 million.

HootSuite had previously raised $4.95 million from Blumberg Capital, Hearst Interactive Media, Millenium Technology Ventures and angel investor Geoff Entress, including a $3 million debt bridge that Millenium led in September.

According to an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Holmes sold some shares himself but his vision has not changed. He sold shares, he said, “because I have a vision to build a billion-dollar company…and now I’m a bit de-risked.”

Too often in Canada, entrepreneurs are willing to sell their companies at $50 million or $100 million, Holmes said, “(and) if somebody wants to drop a check in your lap at those prices, it’s life-changing money. But for me, I look at this and say it’s a shame, because so many companies that have huge potential get out too early in this scenario.”

Hootsuite is the world’s most widely used social media relationship platform. More than 10 million users, including 744 of the Fortune 1000 companies, trust Hootsuite to manage their social media programs across multiple social networks from one integrated dashboard. Learn more about how Hootsuite is revolutionizing communication at http://www.hootsuite.com.
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Rob Lewis

Rob is the President of Techvibes Media and Editor-in-Chief of Techvibes.com.
His diverse background includes stints in International Trade Finance, Web Development, and Enterprise Software and he is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University.
When not running Canada's leading technology media property, Rob can be...
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